Apple iPhone 3GS vs iPhone 4
Both Apple iPhone 3GS and Apple iPhone 4 are from the same Apple product line up. iPhone 4 is the latest edition. The difference between Apple iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 may interest many as so many iPhone 3 and 3 GS users are still waiting for their time to come for upgrade. We could easily say that Apple designed iPhone 4 from scratch not just an upgrade and addition of few features from iPhone 3GS. Let’s start with the difference between iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 in the exterior design.
If we take the appearance iPhone 3GS looks very similar to any other candy bar smart phones, but iPhone 4 is a slim attractive device with unique design, which makes the holder proud. The iPhone 4 display named as Retina display uses a new technology called IPS or In-Plane Switching technology that improves viewing angle (178 degrees) from any direction and the colour. IPS supports richer 8-bit color. Also the contrast ratio has improved drastically (4 times of previous models).
Both iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS displays are 3.5″ multi touch LCD screens but iPhone 4 display resolution is four times that of iPhone 3GS, it is 960×640 versus 480×320. The front and back panels of the iPhone 4 are hardened scratch resistant glass panels coated with fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating. Again both differ when we compare the camera too. The rare camera in iPhone 4 is a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus, LED flash and illumination sensor whereas the one in iPhone 3GS is only 3 megapixels autofocus camera. The lacking feature in iPhone 3GS is the front facing camera for video calling. The iPhone 4 support face time video calling made possible by the addition of 0.3 megapixel front facing camera. The 5.0 MP rare camera in iPhone 4 supports HD video recording while iPhone 3GS can record in VGA only.
iPhone 4 supports Wi-Fi standards 802.11b, 802.11g and the latest 802.11n (2.4 KHz only) for faster connectivity while iPhone 3GS support 802.11b/g. iPhone 4’s additional features include three-axis gyro, dual-mic noise suppression. The other differences between iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 include the two important features, the processor and the battery life. iPhone 3GS processor speed is 684 MHz, whereas the processor used in iPhone 4 is Apple A4 processor with 1 KHz speed. Battery capacity also very much improved in iPhone 4 compared to iPhone 3GS. Talk time in iPhone 4 has improved by 2 hours when compared to iPhone 3GS.
Comparison of Apple iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS
| Spec | iPhone 4 | iPhone 3GS |
| Display | 3.5″ Retina display, multi-touch screen, oleophobic coating | 3.5″ multi-touch, oleophobic coating |
| Resolution | 960×640 pixels; 326ppi | 480 x320 pixels; 163ppi |
| Dimension | 4.5″x2.31″x0.37″ | 4.5″x2.4″x0.48″ |
| Design | Candy bar | Candy bar |
| Weight | 4.8 oz | 4.8 oz |
| Operating System | iOS 4.2.1 | iOS 4.2.1 |
| Browser | Safari | Safari |
| Processor | 1GHz Apple A4 | 624 MHz |
| Storage Internal | 16 or 32 GB flash drive | 8GB flash drive |
| External | No | No |
| RAM | 512MB | 512 MB |
| Camera | Rare: 5MP with LED flash, 720p HD video recording@30fps, geotagging
Front: 0.3 MP VGA recording@30fps |
Rare: 3 MP, VGA video recording @30fps, geotagging
Front: No |
| GPS | A-GPS with Google Map | A-GPS with Google map |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz only | 802.11b/g |
| Bluetooth | 2.1 + EDR | 2.1+ EDR |
| Multitasking | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | Built-in Li-ion
Talktime: 7hrs (3G), 14hrs (2G) Internet use: 6hrs (3G), 10hrs (Wi-Fi) |
Built-in Li-ion
Talktime: 5 hrs (3G), 12hrs (2G) Internet use: 5hrs (3G), 9hrs (Wi-Fi) |
| Network support | UMTS, HSUPA, HSDPA: tri-band
CDMA: CDMA EV-DO Rev.A |
UMTS, HSDPA: tri-band
GSM/EDGE: quad-band |
| Additional features | Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, light sensor | Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, light sensor |